Wooing Tree is a single vineyard (26 hectares, with 18 hectares of
Pinot Noir) just on the outskirts of Cromwell, surrounded by
residential properties. Just opposite is a Cromwell landmark: the
rather bizarre big fruit sculpture.

It is owned by Plumpton (UK)-trained Stephen and Thea Farquharson
and Stephen’s sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Geoff Bews. They
bought the land in 2001 and planted it in 2002 with assistance from
consultant viticulturist Robin Dicey. The first vintage was 2005,
and the wines are made by Pete Bartle at VinPro.

Wooing Tree is named after a big tree that sits in the middle of the
vineyard. This is a bit of a local landmark and when the land was
being developed as a vineyard, pressure from Cromwell residents
meant that it was saved from being chopped down, so it stayed, and
the vineyard was named after it.

I visited with Stephen Farquharson, who picked me up from
Queenstown. We stopped off for some cherries on the way (Central
Otago is famous for them) and had a quick look at the new motor
racing circuit (Highlands – www.highlands.co.nz),
before a brilliant tasting looking at all the Pinot Noirs that
Wooing Tree have produced to date.

The first vintage with fruit from this vineyard was 2005, which won
the trophy for Pinot Noir at the Air New Zealand awards in 2006. The
soils are light, free-draining wind-blown loess, fairly typical for
the region, with lots of schist mixed in. 'When we dug down we got
to gravel,' says Stephen. Most of the Cromwell basin is similar.
This is a flat site and it can be frosty, so irrigation is used for
frost fighting in the form of overhead sprinklers.

I was impressed by these wines, particularly the more recent
vintages. 'People don't realise it, but we do get quite big vintage
variation in Central Otago,' says Stephen. This is seen in the
wines.

Two successes here are the Blondie and the Rosé. They come from the
same single vineyard, so it's tricky to decide what goes into them
because everything is good. The grapes for these are picked before
the Pinot used for the red wines, and the only difference is an hour
or so of skin contact. Blondie started as a small production white
Pinot Noir for the tasting room, but now 800 cases are made.

A part of the vineyard is used for the Sandstorm Reserve, and for
this, yields are reduced a bit, and it stays in barrel a bit longer,
too.

THE WINES

Wooing Tree Blondie 2013 Central Otago, New Zealand Fresh and lively with rounded fruit. Primary and textured with
freshness and some grapiness. Very stylish. 89/100

Wooing Tree Pinot Gris 2011 Central Otago, New ZealandBarrel fermented from rogue vines in the vineyard; these have
now been pulled out. Textured, fresh and supple with some tangerine,
a hint of green and some grapiness. Focused and attractive. 89/100

Wooing Tree Chardonnay 2011 Central Otago, New Zealand Stylish, restrained, with a creamy edge to the fresh, textured,
slightly nutty fruit. Some warmth and depth here, but restrained at
the same time. 90/100

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir Beetle Juice 2012 Central Otago, New
ZealandThis is named after the Cromwell chafer beetle, and it won Air
New Zealand gold in 2013. It's a second label of 1500 cases. Juicy,
bright and lovely with vivid black cherry and red cherry fruit.
Joyful, direct, floral and fun. 93/100

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2005 Central Otago, New Zealand14.5% alcohol. First vintage. Sweet, ripe, warm with subtle herb
and garrigue notes as well as fine cherries on the nose. The fresh,
supple palate is warm with some iodine and herb complexity. Finely
balanced with vibrant fruit, still. 94/100

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2006 Central Otago, New Zealand 14% alcohol. Warm and sweetly herbal with nice cherry fruit with
some plums. Nicely aromatic with some savoury notes. The palate is
fresh and supple with fine-grained tannins and a hint of pepper.
Showing nice evolution and drinking well now. 93/100

Wooing Tree Pinot Noir 2007 Central Otago, New Zealand14.5% alcohol, from half bottle. Some earthy, leathery notes on
the noe, which is meaty, ripe and savoury. Sweet cherries and plums.
The palate is bright and lively with a spicy undercurrent and some
structure. A warm, meaty style. 91/100